1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hygienic devices and catamenial devices such as tampons, sanitary napkins, panty shields, panty liners, and the like, comprised of a novel microbiostatic and deodorizing fibrous material.
2. Statement of the Related Art
It is known that, in sanitary hygienic and catamenial devices which consist of an absorbent fibrous material and which are used for absorbing bodily secretions, such as blood, urine, menstrual fluid, lymphatic fluids and perspiration, bacterial decomposition of the secretion begins after only a short time under the effect of ubiquitously present bacteria and is accompanied by the emission of an unpleasant odor. In addition, serious health risks are presented by the growth of pathogenic, particularly alkaliphilic, microbes. There has been no shortage of attempts to provide sanitary hygiene aids of absorbent fibrous materials with deodorizing and microbistatic properties. Various microbicides and deodorants suitable for suppressing body odor have been proposed for this purpose.
However, suppressing the odor generated by the decomposition of blood, urine, menstrual fluid, lymphatic fluid, perspiration, and the like, is a comparatively difficult problem, particularly because the usual antimicrobial agents are not firmly anchored to the fibers and are readily leached by the above-mentioned secretions. It has also been proposed to use copper compounds for treating fibrous materials for sanitary hygiene aids.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,385,632 (and corresponding German published application 31 35 410) describe an absorbent padding of nonwoven cellulose fibers or wadding which is sprayed with an aqueous solution of a copper salt or prepared from fibers or wadding pre-treated with such a solution. Disclosed suitable copper salts are the borate, sulfate, chloride, formate, oxolate, tartrate, citrate, lactate, and especially, the acetate. This known material is attended by various disadvantages. Thus, the copper salt is not uniformly distributed in the absorbent padding, some of the copper salt crystallizes out after drying (which gives rise to difficulties during processing of the fibrous material), and the copper salt dissolves in the presence of water, for example, in a wet diaper or in a damp tampon, and can thus reach the surface of the skin in relatively high concentrations, producing undesirable reactions.
Published European Patent Application No. 19,371 describes a blood-coagulating absorbent material consisting of a water-swellable, covalently crosslinked anionic polyelectrolyte, for example crosslinked carboxymethyl cellulose, which is treated with transition metal ions, such as with copper ions. Disclosed salts for treatment include copper chlorides, nitrates, sulfates and acetates in one process and copper carbonates, oxides or hydroxides in a second process. However, materials such as these are not themselves usually fibrous or cannot readily be converted into fibers, wadding or nonwovens. It is disclosed that the materials may be processed with a fibrous carrier as a support when used in hygiene aids. Both the manufacture and also the processing of this material are difficult.